Cherokee, Ocean City and Paul VI placed 6th, 7th and 8th at the Meet of Champions Saturday morning at Holmdel, the 1st time in 28 years three South Jersey schools all finished among the top eight in the state.
A parochial school that draws students from all over North Jersey won with 80 points. Cherokee was 6th with 182, Ocean City 7th with 206 and Paul VI 8th with 208.
South Jersey had three top-8 schools six times – all in a row from 1990 through 1996. We’ll take a look at thoes finishes later in this post.
Cherokee’s 6th-place finish equals the Chiefs’ 2nd-best all-time. They won the 2021 meet and they were also 6th in 2010.
Ocean City’s 7th-place finish is their best since the 2003 team was 5th. They were also 4th in 1987 and 1988.
And Paul VI, competing as a team for the first time 2003, had its best finish since the 1996 team placed 7th. PVI was also 2nd in 1990, 5th in 1991, 3rd in 1992, 5th in 1993, 7th in 1994, 8th in 1995, so this is their 9th time in the top 8.
Senior Megan Niglio led Cherokee in 17th place in 19:09, with junior Madeline Meder 28th in 19:32. Freshman Erin Healy [71st in 20:14.29], senior Grace Wojciechowski [115th in 20:56.69] and junior Maya Kumar [127th in 21:26.73] also scored for the Chiefs. For team scoring purposes, they ran 6th, 14th, 36th, 58th and 68th.
Ocean City raced without No. 1 runner Maeve Smith, who has been battling injuries, but still had its best finish in more than two decades. Senior Chloe Care ran 20th in 19:19.43, sophomore Carly Godfrey placed 48th in 19:56.45, freshman Riley Tolson was 65th in 20:08.62, senior Zoe Zammit was 121st in 21:08.15 and sophomore Lillian Flora 134th in 21:36.16. Their team scores were 9th, 25th, 34th, 63rd and 75th. Soph Peighton Clemens wasn’t far back at 21:54.
For Paul VI, junior Macy Huber led the way in 41st with 19:53, sophomore Grace Gutowski was 49th in 19:57, freshman Peyton Blake 53rd in 20:01, freshman Morgan Kuzma 106th in 20:46 and freshman Johanna Trampe 142nd in 21:59, with senior Verina Belmonte just outside the top 5 in 22:03. Team scoring: 21st, 26th, 28th, 51st, 82nd.
Here’s a look at every year South Jersey has had three teams in the top eight:
2024: Cherokee [6th, 182 points], Ocean City [7th, 206 points], Paul VI [8th, 208 points]
1996: Shawnee [2nd, 93 points], Bishop Eustace [4th, 138 points], Paul VI [7th, 208 points]
1995: Bishop Eustace [2nd, 77 points], Shawnee [3rd, 87 points], Paul VI [8th, 236 points]
1994: Bishop Eustace [2nd, 77 points], Shawnee [5th, 108 points], Paul VI [7th, 208 points]
1993: Shawnee [4th, 125 points], Paul VI [5th, 157 points], Ocean City [7th, 210 points]
1992: Paul VI [3rd, 141 points], Bishop Eustace [4th, 142 points], Shawnee [6th, 159 points]
1991: Shawnee [1st, 99 points], Paul VI [5th, 138 points], Cinnaminson [8th, 195 points]
1990: Paul VI [2nd, 136 points], Shawnee [5th, 165 points], Ocean City [8th, 189 points]
Oddly, Paul VI has scored exactly 208 points and placed 7th or 8th three of the last four times three South Jersey schools finished in the top 8.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 